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Clinical professor education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a clinical professor. Clinical professors usually study nursing, medicine, or pharmacy. 34% of clinical professors hold a bachelor's degree, and 28% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 1,025 real clinical professor resumes to see exactly what clinical professor education sections show.

The most common colleges for clinical professors are the New York University and the New York University.

There are also many online clinical professor courses to help get the education required to be a clinical professor.

There are certain clinical professor certifications that you should consider. These clinical professor certifications include Pediatrics and Surgery.

What education do you need to become a clinical professor?

What degree do you need to be a clinical professor?

The most common degree for clinical professors is bachelor's degree, with 34% of clinical professors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are doctoral degree degree at 28% and doctoral degree degree at 21%.
  • Bachelor's, 34%
  • Doctorate, 28%
  • Master's, 21%
  • Associate, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 13%

What should I major in to become a clinical professor?

You should major in nursing to become a clinical professor. 32% of clinical professors major in nursing. Other common majors for a clinical professor include medicine and pharmacy.

Most common colleges for clinical professors

Clinical professors often get their degrees at New York University, University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of Florida. Here are the most common colleges for clinical professors in the US based on their resumes.
Clinical professor common collegePercentages
New York University10.80%
University of California, Santa Barbara9.66%
University of Florida6.82%
Howard University6.25%
University of Connecticut5.68%

Best majors for clinical professors

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing31.7%
2Medicine16.9%
3Pharmacy9.2%
4Biology7.4%
5Psychology5.7%

Best colleges for clinical professors

The best colleges for clinical professors are Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University.

A clinical professor with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for clinical professors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become clinical professors.

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

2. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

3. Ohio State University

Columbus, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$10,726

Enrollment

45,769

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

6. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

10. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

20 best online courses for clinical professors

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2. Predictive Modeling and Transforming Clinical Practice

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This course teaches you the fundamentals of transforming clinical practice using predictive models. This course examines specific challenges and methods of clinical implementation, that clinical data scientists must be aware of when developing their predictive models...

3. Basic of Clinical Data Management

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4. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research

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Certification on ICH GCP E6 R2 Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research The Only Complete Course You Can Find Online...

5. Introduction to Clinical Data Science

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This course will prepare you to complete all parts of the Clinical Data Science Specialization. In this course you will learn how clinical data are generated, the format of these data, and the ethical and legal restrictions on these data. You will also learn enough SQL and R programming skills to be able to complete the entire Specialization - even if you are a beginner programmer. While you are taking this course you will have access to an actual clinical data set and a free, online...

6. Clinical Natural Language Processing

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This course teaches you the fundamentals of clinical natural language processing (NLP). In this course you will learn the basic linguistic principals underlying NLP, as well as how to write regular expressions and handle text data in R. You will also learn practical techniques for text processing to be able to extract information from clinical notes. Finally, you will have a chance to put your skills to the test with a real-world practical application where you develop text processing...

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8. The Beginners Course for Clinical Research

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9. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment (Clinical Perspective)

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HI-FIVE (Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment) Training is a 12-hour online course designed by Columbia University in 2016, with sponsorship from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The training is role-based and uses case scenarios. Also, it has additional, optional modules on other topics of interest or relevance. Although we suggest to complete the course within a month's timeframe, the course is self-paced and so you can start and...

10. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

11. Good Clinical Practice (GCP)

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Key features of the GCP guideline, roles and responsibilities involved and the requirements of essential documentation...

12. The Simplest Guide to Clinical Trials Data Analysis with SAS

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Step into the world of Pharmaceutical industry Clinical Trials Clinical Research Biostatistics Clinical SAS SAS...

13. Clinical Trials Analysis, Monitoring, and Presentation

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In this course, you’ll learn more advanced operational skills that you and your team need to run a successful clinical trial. You’ll learn about the computation of sample size and how to develop a sample size calculation that’s suitable for your trial design and outcome measures. You’ll also learn to use statistical methods to monitor your trial for safety, integrity, and efficacy. Next, you’ll learn how to report the results from your clinical trials through both journal articles and data...

14. Making Data Science Work for Clinical Reporting

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This course is aimed to demonstate how principles and methods from data science can be applied in clinical reporting. By the end of the course, learners will understand what requirements there are in reporting clinical trials, and how they impact on how data science is used. The learner will see how they can work efficiently and effectively while still ensuring that they meet the needed standards...

15. Clinical Research for beginners

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16. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)

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A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...

17. Clinical Trials Data Management and Quality Assurance

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In this course, you’ll learn to collect and care for the data gathered during your trial and how to prevent mistakes and errors through quality assurance practices. Clinical trials generate an enormous amount of data, so you and your team must plan carefully by choosing the right collection instruments, systems, and measures to protect the integrity of your trial data. You’ll learn how to assemble, clean, and de-identify your datasets. Finally, you’ll learn to find and correct deficiencies...

18. Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics

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If you’ve ever skipped over the results section of a medical paper because terms like “confidence interval” or “p-value” go over your head, then you’re in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research...

19. Abnormal Behavior & Clinical Psychology (Certificate)

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Guiding students into the field of mental health services for either personal and/or professional development...

20. Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials

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In this course, you’ll learn how to design and carry out clinical trials. Each design choice has implications for the quality and validity of your results. This course provides you and your team with essential skills to evaluate options, make good design choices, and implement them within your trial. You’ll learn to control for bias, randomize participants, mask treatments and outcomes, identify errors, develop and test hypotheses, and define appropriate outcomes. Finally, a trial without...

Top 10 most affordable universities for clinical professors

The most affordable schools for clinical professors are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for clinical professors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for clinical professors.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

7. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Cost of attendance

25,527

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for clinical professors

The hardest universities for clinical professors to get into are Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University.

Some great schools for clinical professors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for clinical professors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for clinical professors

The easiest schools for clinical professors to get into are D'Youville College, barry university, and mount saint mary's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a clinical professor without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for clinical professors.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

4. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

7. Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,059

8. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

9. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

10. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

Average clinical professor salary by education level

According to our data, clinical professors with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $198,401 annually. Clinical professors with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $146,055.
Clinical professor education levelClinical professor salary
Master's Degree$146,055
Doctorate Degree$198,401

Clinical professor education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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